The presence of magnesium in the human body is essential for the normal functioning of many enzyme reactions. It is the most important intra-cellular mineral after potassium and forms part of a multitude of actions with cellular enzymes. It also serves a number of functions in the human body such as in energy storing and releasing actions involved in oxidation phosphorylation. Indirectly, therefore, if affects all anabolic and catabolic reactions involving carbohydrate, fat and protein. It is an essential co-factor for some peptidases, ribonucleases, glycolic and cocarboxylation reations. A lack of magnesium chloride in the body can, therefore, give rise to a wide variety of disorders.
At the same time, magnesium chloride serves as a useful therapeutic agent in the treatment of a number of disorders, particularly disorders arising out of a magnesium imbalance. Such disorders include, for instance, idiopathic steatorrhea, resection of the bowel, ulcerative colitis and, in certain forms of chronic diarrhoea, rapid transition of food through the small intestine.
One of the difficulties encountered in the administration of magnesium chloride is that it is highly deliquescent. If exposed to the atmosphere, the powder is eventually dissolved in the moisture absorbed by it from the atmosphere. For this reason it is not practical to supply magnesium chloride in powder or tablet form.
Furthermore, magnesium chloride in both powder and tablet form is most unpalatable and can lead to nausea. Difficulty has been experienced in the past in coating the magnesium chloride in a palatable coating because moisture is still absorbed by it through the coating, leading to flocculation and eventual breakdown of the tablet.
The problem arising from the deliquescence of magnesium chloride cannot be overcome through administering it in solution form because not only is the solution unpalatable, leading to nausea, but magnesium chloride can be a stomach irritant causing retching and loss of the administered dosage.
Where there has been a sufficient intake of magnesium chloride for purposes of treatment, it has been found that as much as eighty per centum of the administered dosage can be excreted in the faeces. Generally, it is not possible, for this reason to administer sufficient magnesium chloride to obtain absorption of the chemical by the body in desired amounts.
An object of the present invention is the provision of magnesium chloride in a suitable dosage form in which the abovementioned problems are overcome to a large extent.